DBH: Illuminate - New Jericho
by TheShadowsmiths
Summary: IV. Kate returns to Jericho to meet Markus, their new leader, and finds a friend in her fight for civil rights.


**November 9th, 2038 - 11AM **

The derelict ship echoed a loud groan throughout its old, corroding hull as she moved through the entrance and pulled the heavy door shut behind her. Kate struggled to turn the handle until it finally jerked into place with the shrill ring of grinding metal muffled by rust and flaking paint chips, then jiggled the item in her hand and shone her flashlight down the open corridor as it flickered to life with a dull buzz. For a few moments longer, she stood with her back to the wall and listened for movement on the other side until she was sure she hadn't been followed, then proceeded to move through the debris cluttering the halls. It had been a few months since she'd last been to Jericho but with Markus' sudden appearance, and his interest in taking the reigns, Kate figured it was about time to have a face to face with Simon and Josh again so she could meet their new leader and evaluate his candor for herself. After all, she wasn't about to leave them in the hands of someone she knew next to nothing about, even if her partners had begun to trust him.

Her footsteps clacked across the steel grating as she followed the path from the entrance at the docks up several flights of stairs, through one cargo hold to the next, until a few minutes later she stopped at a door which had been barricaded from the inside. The woman lifted her hand and rapped on the door in sequence, switching between soft taps with her knuckle and thuds with a clenched fist.

Tap tap _bang _tap. Tap _bang _tap. Tap. Tap. Tap tap _bang_. Tap tap tap.

She paused after the sixth sequence and waited; it was about ten seconds before she could hear footsteps, accompanied by the screeching of a lifting bar and the cry of the door hinges and the door swung open. From inside North's piercing stare glinted as the light caught her eyes, and she motioned her in with a sideways nod. Behind her stood Simon, who placed his hand on Kate's shoulder with a soft squeeze as she approached and smiled.

"We were starting to think things didn't go so well the other day and that you'd been captured," he commented in a relieved tone, "I'm glad to see you're alright."

"There were some slight complications, but I'm okay," she replied as she followed him inside and glanced around the room, now lit by warm fires in old oil drums; it was incredible how many had found their way here, they had nearly doubled in number. "Jericho seems to have grown considerably since my last visit," she noted sadly.

"Deviancy is spreading faster than ever, we're receiving new arrivals every day," he explained as she led her upstairs, North in tail.

Kate sighed. While it was great that they had found help, the realization of just how widespread the suffering of their kind was now made her heart heavy. "Then I guess we'll have to work faster."

"You came at a good time," he said as he looked down at her. "Markus has something in the works he was hoping Illuminate would help him with."

She stiffened at the suggestion, stopped mid on the stairs and clenched her hands into quivering fists at her side, and shook her head as she looked up. "Simon, you _know _I don't work with people I don't trust-" she half pleaded, but Simon was prepared for her resistance.

"_Lumi_," he cooed gently, and her lower lip pulled tight. His blue eyes smiled as he stepped down the stairs past her until he was at her level, then turned and took both her hands in his; after a moment of hesitation her fingers uncurled and flattened her palms against his and she stopped shaking. It wasn't the first time he'd had to settle her nerves and he was sure it wouldn't be the last, but Simon didn't mind. He never had. "I haven't promised him anything. Markus understands he needs to earn your trust, he just wants to pick your brain for now," he finished as he gave her hands a soft squeeze. "It'll be alright, I promise."

The quiver in her chin grew more noticeable the longer she stared into his eyes, like a child heeding the words of an older, gentle sibling. When she had found Simon nearly one year ago, she had been so scared, so angry, and so lost, she had never wanted to trust another person again. But somewhere in the depths of that big, beautiful heart of his, was an overflowing fount of compassion, patience, and understanding that with a little time had healed all of her wounds and taught her how to love again- to give others a chance, to try to see the good in them, and to have faith that they wouldn't hurt her or let her down.

If it weren't for this man Illuminate's movement wouldn't have made the progress it had toward making a positive change in the world. Simon had helped mold and shape her vision and uplifted her on her worst days when the world was crashing down around her. To Kate he was her comfort zone, her _family_, and she trusted him with every fiber of her being.

Her blue eyes shifted from one of his to the other and she squeezed back in weak reply, "You trust him, then?"

Simon's gaze moved to the floor below, then back to her as he released her hands and gestured upstairs. "Let me show you something…"

Without protest, she followed him until he reached the overhang of the upper level and leaned over the railing to gaze outwards across the room. She hadn't noticed before but from this vantage, she saw shipping containers full of biocomponents and crates of blue blood, and her face softened and lit up in awe. "Wh-where did you-...?"

He beamed with a marveled grin. "Markus broke into a Cyberlife distribution center and stole a truckload of supplies. He saved dozens of us from shutting down and supplied us with the means to help refugees from the moment they arrive," he explained, allowing her a few moments to process how truly remarkable Markus' contribution to Jericho was.

"That's… incredibly selfless," she exhaled with a small smile.

"To say I trust him would be a gross misrepresentation of what I truly feel," he said as he traced his eyes across the far wall and looked over to her. "I believe in his vision, and I'll do what I must to protect it, even if it means-"

"Stop, please." One of Kate's hands reached desperately for his and threaded her fingers with his, their skin reacting and receding quietly as she squeezed tight and she looked at him with pleading eyes. "Don't let it come to that… alright? Jericho _needs _you, and without you, I-..."

Her voice trailed off and her lip quivered as she smiled fondly at him. She didn't want to imagine having to do this without his help, not now, not ever. "I don't know what I'd do."

Simon lowered his eyes, reached around the back of her head with his free hand to cradle her neck, and bumped his forehead to hers with a sad smile. "I think you'd be just fine, but don't fret about that… there's work to be done."

"Are you Kate?" came a voice from behind them that was compelling yet resoundingly serene, a combination she hadn't expected from someone so bold as to walk right into Cyberlife's warehouses and steal their equipment.

As Simon stepped away from her he gave her one more reassuring squeeze but lingered close by just in case she needed him.

"I am," she replied as she turned halfway around to look at him over her shoulder, and was struck by what she saw. Kate didn't need to look into his arrest record to know that he'd lost everything and pulled himself out of hell, she could feel the weight of his past radiating from his mismatched eyes. Markus wore his heart on his sleeve like a coat of arms- he'd tempered his pain and hammered it into a shield forged in the fires of hardship, molded his resolve to the point of a blade shaped by injustice and sharpened by anger. He was a reluctant warrior, a fierce protector, and a kindred spirit.

And immediately she understood what it was they saw in him.

The man extended his hand to her, an affable gesture of goodwill she usually wouldn't have accepted, and smiled brighter than she thought him capable of. "I was hoping I'd get to meet you someday soon."

Kate reached out, gripped his hand and gave him a neutral nod. "It would have been rude for me not to introduce myself," she deflected as she lifted her free hand to wrap around the strap of her shoulder bag in nervous habit.

"I've heard a lot about you from Simon- about how you found him at the beginning, about how you've worked to shield deviants and guide them to Jericho, about the broadcasts you've been televising for the last year," he said as he walked beside her, "You've done amazing things for our people."

"You've done pretty well yourself," she commented as she glanced down at a pair of androids receiving repairs behind a privacy screen. "My guys have never been able to pull off a heist of this scale… you've done more in two weeks time to stabilize the living conditions of our colony than I've done in a year."

Markus shot her a hard look as if he were upset with her for being too humble. "_No_," he started, "No but what you were focused on was so much more important than just running for supplies and settling disputes." He stopped walking and fixed his eyes directly on hers and she shifted uncomfortably under his penetrating gaze.

"If it wasn't for your work, none of these people would have had somewhere to escape to. What I've done could never overshadow what you've put into motion," he insisted and at this Kate smiled quietly. She was starting to like him too.

"Whatever happens from here on out, I want to make sure we continue to work together, Jericho and Illuminate, toward our common goal."

"You mean liberty for Androids?"

"Liberty, freedom, justice- _all of it_," he lifted his arms and looked around the room. "I want our people to be _free_, and you want them to be accepted as living beings capable of independent thought. We deserve so much better than this, and together I know we can accomplish that."

_Really _starting to like him…

The woman's lips parted as if ready to speak but she paused, looked away and sighed. "How?" She asked plain and simple before looking back to him. "I've already been trying for so long to change the way the world thinks about us, what makes you think your words will get through?"

"Because they need more than just a speech from some anonymous voice on their television screens making them slightly uncomfortable for them to wake up."

Kate furrowed her brow and squinted at him. "So then what are you suggesting?"

"That it's time for action," he stated without reservations. "Humanity was shaken by your broadcasts at first, but when we didn't take action they become too complacent. It's time they're reminded we're still here, and we'll fight for what we want."

Her heart skipped a beat and her eyes went wide as she realized what he was insinuating; her hand gripped tighter around her bag strap and she flashed him a small grin as she shook her outstretched index finger. "I like where you're going with this… but you need to be careful with what you say and do," she noted is a serious tone. "Being too aggressive will only hurt our cause instead of helping it."

Markus' brow lifted and he nodded crookedly. "And that's why I need your help- you have a lot more experience with public broadcasts, you know better than me how the humans will react to what we say."

"You want to make a speech…?" she blinked in surprise.

"I want them to know Illuminate isn't the only one out there anymore pushing for change, and I want them to know we're done waiting."

Kate eyed him for several moments as she weighed the pros and cons of adding another face to her brand. Sure, Markus had one of those faces that begged you to trust them, and yes he had the advantage of being a _man _which meant people would be more inclined to listen to him, but what kind of effect would mixed messages have on anyone on the fence? Knowing Illuminate to be comprised of many as compared to one would not only put their target audience even more on edge, it would also potentially put her associates in danger, which would make it harder for them to move about as freely as they could now. DCPD and Military presence would increase, their carefully guarded information would be even harder to obtain. And it wasn't that she minded a challenge, she just would rather not have to take the risk if it had the potential to cripple her entire operation.

But it would also fan the flame of revolution, which was necessary.

She clenched her teeth and replied, "Well… I can help you with that. I can set up a broadcast whenever you need me to."

"Actually, I was thinking we'd broadcast from the Stratford Tower."

"_What!?_" Her jaw nearly hit the floor. "Why would you risk being discovered when you could easily just-"

"Because it's not so much about the broadcast, as much as it's about disrupting the status quo," Markus insisted as he locked eyes with her and softly patted the backs of his fingers into his palm.

Kate drew her lips together tight, shook her head, turned and paced away from him to the corner of the room with her hands on her hips and exhaled slowly.

"You don't even need to help us execute the plan, I just want to know how you'd get in, and get your opinion on what to say."

"Markus- when you said it was time for action, I thought you meant graffiti and protests, not invading their workplace and terrorizing humans!" she exclaimed as she pressed her thumb and index fingers against the bridge of her nose.

"Oh, come on, terrorism is a little strong, don't you think?" he half-chuckled.

"No, I don't think you understand the _gravity _of what you're suggesting," she stressed as she turned to look him in the eye, unamused. "Look- I can appreciate your passion for rebellion and your knack for creativity, but doing this wrong could cause more problems than it would solve for all of us, and make what I'm doing _a hell of a lot harder_."

Markus lifted his hands to hip level, took a step back and nodded. "Okay… alright. You're right, it may be a little much," he said quietly. "So then what do you suggest we do?"

With a controlled, exhaled breath, she composed herself so she could think more rationally about the idea as a whole. "You need to be as non-invasive and discreet as possible. No one can know you're there until they absolutely need to."

"Of course, I agree."

"I mean it. Even one fatality- hell, one injury no matter the reason for it, will shift the public's opinion unfavorably. So that means no bullets."

His face contorted in disdain and he tried to protest. "That… might be a little difficult to-"

"No bullets," she reiterated without even batting an eye. "Violence is the language of fear, and should only be used as a last resort to protect yourselves. Once you resort to violence you'll never be able to earn back their trust. You can't use fear to _make _them understand, it would only end in prejudice and insincere submission."

Out of the corner of her eye she saw North turn away in frustration and mumble under her breath, but Markus simply nodded in quiet understanding, eyes shifting between empty spots on the floor as he pieced together his own feelings and how he wanted to respond.

"No, you're right… that's not what we want," he agreed, "If we want them to see reason, we have to show them what we want them to see. The moment we show them violence we've already lost their attention."

It was a longer conversation than she'd planned on having, but Kate was relieved that he had the sense to listen to reason when he heard it. "I'm glad you understand that…" she mused as she made her way toward the stairs.

"Hey-" Markus reached for her arm as she passed but stopped himself from invading her personal space before he made contact, and she glanced down at his outstretched hand before giving him the courtesy of meeting his gaze. "I really appreciate all you're doing, and I hope I haven't made you uncomfortable. This place was your home before it was mine, and I don't want you to feel like I took over."

"Markus, Jericho is plenty big enough for the both of us." Kate replied softly as she stepped up toward him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm glad you're here, so please don't take my distance personally. This is just how I am."

"Yeah, so I've heard," he admitted with a small smile.

"Just give me a few days to do some reconnaissance with my people and I'll be back with a plan to get you in with as little resistance as possible. In the meantime, just think about what you want to say, and we'll go over it the next time we meet."

He nodded quietly as he backed up the steps to let Simon pass and gave her a hesitant wave before returning to his perch in the control room; she hadn't noticed the longing look in his eyes before when he watched the man, but when he smiled and chuckled "I think he likes you," it hit her like a truck, and Kate grinned ear to ear.

"I think you like him."

She'd never seen an android choke on air before but it was by far the funniest thing she remembered seeing. Simon's eyes snapped open wide and he doubled over and sputtered out a clumsy cough as his cheeks and ears flushed a faint shade of blue; a loud laugh erupted out of her for a split-second before she could cover her mouth to contain it and it echoed throughout the room. She hid her face in his shoulder to shut herself up as every confused head turned to stare.

"I'm gonna go now," she whispered quietly through silent wheezing breaths.

"Don't forget," he squeaked out a reminder as he smothered her with a big hug, "Tomorrow's Tuesday, so I'll meet you at the usual time."

"Of course," she confirmed. "See you at noon."


End file.
